~ BLOG TOUR STOP LOVING GRACE ~

~ BLOG TOUR STOP ~

--  'LOVING GRACE'  --

AUTHOR APRIL SMITH

~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, Author

Bio, Special Feature--Eight Behind-the-Scenes

Facts Shared by the Author

& Giveaway~

Welcome to the Loving Grace by April Smith blog & review tour plus giveaway, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Loving Grace  
Author: April Smith  
Publisher: Ambassador International  
Release Date: March 20, 2018  
Genre: Christian Fiction, Young Adult Romance

Grace Summer lands herself in a melon load of trouble when she becomes torn between the boy of her dreams and the boy almost next door.

As the newly crowned Watermelon Queen, she is thrust into the spotlight, meets the dreamy Warren Hartley, and continues trying to get over an accident that rocked her world. Mix in working with Beau Baron who Grace happens to fight with just about as much as breathing and the metaphorical sparks fly.

Like most things in life, Grace must learn to take the good with the bad. While the good is the handsome and fun Warren Hartley, the bad is Beau Baron—or at least being around his annoying and rude self way more than she would like. For Beau, Grace is nothing more than aggravating and an irritating reminder from the night of the accident.

Tensions soar as Grace and Beau fight to love themselves and maybe, just maybe, each other.  

PURCHASE A COPY: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | CBD

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

April Smith grew up spending summers working on her best friend’s family watermelon farm and she was one of those watermelon queens she writes about. She has her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in the Art of Teaching.  

CONNECT WITH APRIL: website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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--SPECIAL FEATURE--

EIGHT BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS SHARED BY APRIL:

    1.  How I Chose Characters Names: Grace was a very easy character to name as I’ve always liked the name Grace, and I love what the name means. Grace (the character) has the ability to be polished, elegant and refined when necessary which pretty much is the definition of graceful. For Beau, it was a subtle hint of what was to come. His name means handsome, and it’s what my grandma used to call my grandpa before they got married.

2. The Watermelon Drop: In the book it’s done during a watermelon festival, but in all actuality it’s a real thing. Only, it’s done to ring in the New Year in a small town in Indiana. I thought that was an interesting and definitely different thing to do with a watermelon and a fun tradition, so I created my own watermelon drop for the festival. 

3. Watermelon Salsa: One of my all-time favorite summer treats is watermelon salsa.

Seriously, I could eat the entire batch in one setting. The recipe I use comes from my time as a watermelon queen. It was one of the first things I was taught how to make when learning about all the yummy recipes there are for watermelon, so I had to include it in the story!

4. How I Picked the Setting: The setting comes from my time working on my best friend’s family watermelon farm. I did all kinds of jobs there like turning vines (which is basically going down every row in an entire field with a crew and using sticks to put the vines back in a row, so the tractor could get through and the vines could continue to grow) to picking the melons and loading them in the bins. While it was hard work, it holds a lot of fun summer memories, so I wanted Grace’s story to take place in the world of watermelons. 

5. The New Orleans Promotion: When I was the watermelon queen, I actually attended a rather large promotion in New Orleans which was the starting point for Grace’s trip. I enjoyed my time there and wanted Grace to have some fun in New Orleans too.

6. Writing Timeframe: Start to finish it took about four months to write the first draft, but that doesn’t include the editing process. :)

7. How I Chose the Title: I loved the play on words with the title. Grace is learning to love herself throughout the book, hence, she’s loving Grace. And then, it can also be looked at it from the viewpoint of having God’s loving grace which Grace experiences in the book as well. And, many other characters are loving Grace throughout the book too.

8. Watermelon in the Field: Grace and Beau share a watermelon in the fields, and she references the heart of the watermelon. It’s true that the sweetest part of the watermelon generally comes from the center of the melon. One of my favorite things to do after a day’s work in the field was crack open a melon and eat it in the wagon while waiting to be picked up for the day.

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

Ambassador International is giving away:

(1) JustRead Summer Fun Book Box, which features Loving Grace as well as at least 4 quality items which complement the story. Find out more here.

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight July 16, 2018 and last through 11:59pm July 23, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Check out the tour landing page at JustRead for the full schedule!

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COMING UP SOON ON 'READING, WRITING & STITCH-METIC':
-- Friday, July 20th: Friday Fiction Feature is a Blog Tour Stop for a middle-grade novel, 'Sophie Washington: Mission Costa Rica'. Post includes a book spotlight, author bio, excerpt, ten behind-the-scenes facts shared by the author, and a giveaway. Tour organized by Singing Librarian Books.

-- Saturday, July 21st: Book Blitz for Award-Winning Author Robin Caroll's newest suspense release, 'Backwater Secrets'. Post includes book spotlight, excerpt, and a giveaway. Tour organized by JustRead Publicity.

-- Monday, July 23rd: Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday feature on a new contemporary fiction release by K.A. Holt, 'From You to Me'. Post includes book spotlight and a review.

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~ BLOG TOUR STOP 'THE LAST SUMMER' ~

~ BLOG TOUR STOP ~

'THE LAST SUMMER'

AUTHOR BRANDY BRUCE

~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, Author Bio,

Snippet, Ten Behind-the-Scenes Facts, 

and a Giveaway~

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Genre:  Contemporary Inspirational Romance
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Publication date: June 2017

A group of seven friends navigate relationships and personal growth during a season of change.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

SNIPPET:

They all exchanged looks around the table. I felt like they were having this private conversation and hoped the conclusion would be that they wanted me. Because there was something special about the people at this table. The way they kidded and joked and touched each other and moved like one breathing organism. The way they did seem like a family. Six people connected to each other. I wanted to be the seventh.

“I have a feeling, Sara Witherspoon,” Addison said, tilting her head to the side and studying me as though she could see all the way to my heart, “you belong too.”

I don’t know how she knew, but she did. Like I said, Addison is the leader. She’s the glue. Once she said those words, all tension melted away, and I was included. If Addison said I belonged, I did. She reminded me of Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. If Mrs. Wilkes was the cool-headed voice of reason that could settle the chaos around her, Addison was that same strong, trusted constant amid these six friends. Her word was law. And from that day forward, the six people around that table at Isabella’s became like six extensions of myself.

We were a circle. Within a month, Jason asked me to go out to dinner with him. Luke hadn’t shown any romantic interest in me, and there was Jason, with that thick, dark hair and playful personality and handful of tattoos on his olive skin—how could I say no? We started dating. A year after that, we broke up.

As much as I truly liked Jason and couldn’t help feeling attracted to him, I hadn’t fallen in love. I couldn’t picture us married and having babies. We were better as friends. I know Jason didn’t agree, but he and I both refused to let our break up damage the circle. Eventually, things between us returned to normal.

During my dating-Jason phase, Sam and Lily got married, which didn’t really change anything since they were already such a unit. I realized early on that Luke and Debra were never an item. I’d mistaken Debra’s warm and friendly demeanor and Luke’s tendency to be protective and kind as the traits of a dating couple, but those endearing qualities of both of them extended to all of us. My crush on Luke diminished as Jason and I dated and then shifted to ‘just friends.’

Sort of.

And somewhere along the way, painfully, Luke and I became best friends.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brandy Bruce is a mom, a wife, a book editor, an author, and someone who really loves dessert. She’s the author of the award-winning novel The Last Summer, Looks Like Love, and The Romano Family Collection. Brandy, her husband, and their children make their home in Colorado.

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST |  

INSTAGRAM | BLOG

10 BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS ABOUT THE LAST SUMMER’S TEXAS SETTING:

The museum’s Pink-Floyd-laser-light-show date that Sara goes on was inspired by one of my first dates with my husband! He planned the whole date and we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse (which was also a place my parents went to when they were dating) and then the laser light show at the very same museum. Best. Date. Ever.

Bodegas, the restaurant near the museum where Sara and her friend Wendy like to eat, is a real restaurant very near the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

I wrote the scene about the gas station barbeque because there’s truly a gas station in Texas that serves amazing barbeque. (There are probably hundreds actually!) The food in Texas can’t be beat.

Sara and her girlfriends go eat doughnuts at Shipley’s. Shipley’s is my favorite doughnut chain in Texas. I am still devastated that there are no Shipley’s in Colorado. For the longest time, no one I knew in Colorado had ever even heard of kolaches! What in the world. I grew up eating sausage kolaches and chocolate-iced doughnuts at Shipley’s Donuts, and every time I’m in Texas, finding a Shipley’s is a must.

The Lake Shore Woods lake house was inspired by a real lake house out in East Texas. My best friend and I stayed there for a weekend years ago and I remember loving how woodsy and beautiful the area was, and thinking that I was going use that setting in a book too.

Sara goes shopping in The Woodlands at a place called Market Street and it’s an area I love to go to whenever I’m back in town—lots of fun restaurants and shops and a movie theater.

There’s a scene where the gang are all hanging out in Hermann hospital waiting room and one of the characters, Debra, brings in several sacks of Whataburger meals. Which is Texas to a T.

I mention Dickens’ on the Strand at Christmastime in the book. This is a real festival in Galveston, Texas, held in late November/early December. It’s a Charles Dickens-esque Christmas celebration with people in costumes and a parade and carolers and street vendors. My grandmother was the one who first told me about it. She and her best girlfriends loved to go to Dickens’ on the Strand together.

When describing Sara’s parents’ house in the affluent Willow Heights area, I mention the azalea bushes by the back deck. This stemmed from the trail of azaleas in Houston’s River Oaks section. It’s a beautiful area with stately homes and during azalea season, you can drive through and see what they call the trail of azaleas. My dad used to drive us through River Oaks when I was a little girl.

As you can probably tell, I love Texas. I was born in Houston and lived there, then Conroe, Texas, and then Porter—both on the outskirts of the city—until I went away to college in Virginia. All of my extended family still live there and whenever I step off the plane and feel the humidity and heat of Texas—and see all the belt buckles and cowboy hats and T-shirts that say, “Most likely to Secede”—I know I’m home again. The places in the book that I didn’t create, such as the museum district and The Woodlands and San Jacinto, are all real places that I’ve touched and experienced. And from the sweet tea the girls drink to the tomato plants Addison grows, these little details come from real-life in Texas.

GIVEAWAY:

Enter the giveaway HERE.

Giveaway package includes the following: summer swag (beach towl, flip flops, sunglasses, bookmark, and candy) & winner’s choice of a print or e-copy of the book.

Giveaway open to US residents only and ends 11:59pm MT on July 21st.

Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

TOUR SCHEDULE

July 16-Jorie Loves A Story | Joy of Reading  | amandainpa
July 17- Paulette’s Papers  | The Power of Words
July 18-Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic | Pause for Tales | Among the Reads
July 19-Book by Book | Edits and Reviews by Leslie | The Green Mockingbird
July 20-Heidi Reads… | Reading Is My SuperPower | Why Not? Because I Said So!
July 21-Remembrancy | Katie’s Clean Book Collection

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COMING UP SOON ON 'READING, WRITING & STITCH-METIC':
--  Thursday, July 19th:  Tour Stop for Author April Smith's inspirational YA debut novel, 'Loving Grace'. Post includes a list of little-known facts about the book written especially for 'Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic' by the author and a giveaway. Tour organized by JustRead Publicity. 

--  Friday, July 20th:  Friday Fiction Feature is a Blog Tour Stop for a middle-grade novel, 'Sophie Washington: Mission Costa Rica'. Post includes a book spotlight, author bio, excerpt, ten behind-the-scenes facts shared by the author, and a giveaway. Tour organized by Singing Librarian Books.  

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~ BLOG TOUR STOP 'BUILDING A LIFE' ~

~ BLOG TOUR STOP ~

--  'BUILDING A LIFE'  --

Author Lauraine Henderson

~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, Author

Bio, Ten Behind-the-Scenes Facts,

Snippet & Giveaway~

ABOUT THE BOOK:

 
Genre: Inspirational, LDS, Romance
Publisher: Books You Can Trust
Publication date: May 8, 2018

Sara Castleton resolved to make better choices now that there was a new life growing inside her. When her husband, Peter, plowed through that stop sign and left this world, he left a mess behind. Picking up the pieces of her shattered life and finishing the house Peter started could be the answer to her future, but she needed help.

When Nicholas Bradford was asked to step into Sara’s unfinished house project, he reluctantly agreed. He didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Peter’s friends and business associates, but one look at his pregnant widow and Nick couldn’t say no.

Before they know it, they aren’t just building a house, they’re Building a Life.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lauraine lives with her husband, dog and cat on 68 acres of woodland 40 miles north of Portland, Oregon. After growing up in Oregon, they moved their family of three children to Utah. From there they moved to Hawaii and Arizona, finally coming back to Oregon in 2015. Their three children, two girls and a boy, are all grown and live across the United States. After being a professional bookkeeper for over twenty years, she turned her hobby of writing into her first published novel in 2016. She loves to write inspirational romance and hopes her readers will be both entertained and uplifted by her stories. When she’s not writing, she loves to paint (watercolors, oils, and acrylics), sew, knit, crochet, and read (of course!).

​FACEBOOK | BLOG | AMAZON

10 BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS ABOUT THE BOOK:
1. My husband, a builder by trade, built two houses for us during the writing and revision process of this book. To make sure I had the facts right, I would sometimes stop him in the middle of working on our house to clarify details.

2. Nick’s two soccer goals in the book were taken directly from my son’s high school soccer experience as a center forward. Nick’s love of the game beyond high school and college stemmed from my husband’s experience playing on a city league when we were dating.

3. Nick’s neglected drafting table in his home office was a salute to my late father-in-law who was a professional draftsman before the days of computer aided drafting programs.

4. Brenda’s house that screamed with bright light was originally supposed to be a house that was immersed in darkness. I had stayed with some friends who lived with the drapes drawn, the blinds closed, and the TV room dark like a theater and found it terribly oppressing. I thought it played well into her dark nature, but I was afraid this friend would see themselves in the book if they read it and changed it to the opposite. I felt it still worked well, showing Brenda as a woman who lived in fear of the dark instead of embracing it.

5. Nick getting beat up was a complete surprise until the day I wrote the scene. In my notes and outline, there was no mention of Nick being attacked. When the story headed that direction, I followed along, interested in seeing where it would go. I was impressed by how well it fit into the story.

6. I didn’t dwell on the many opportunities for complications during the birth of Sara’s baby, but the part where she held Nick’s hand and squeezed it so hard she almost broke his fingers happened for real during the birth of my second child. It was my first natural delivery and my husband shook out his hand and offered two fingers for me to squeeze instead so I would hurt him. It’s amazing how much strength a woman delivering a baby has!

7. Nick and Josh’s experience with the welcoming attitude of people in the LDS church when they were investigating various churches was much like every ward I’ve ever visited or moved into. I wanted to show the openness that the church demonstrates to people who are new.

8. When Sara described Nick’s maneuvering in the trusses as a slow dance, it was exactly how I feel watching my husband when he sets trusses on a house. When the crane operator knows what they’re doing, it can be as smooth as I made it sound and just as riveting.

9. The name of Peter’s friend, Mitch, was just a name when I started writing the book. During the course of revision, I met someone named Mitch who turned out to be the boyfriend of the daughter of people who were living with us. (another story). While I was describing the storyline to the mom of the daughter (to pass the time while we painted the house), Mitch (the boyfriend) joined us. I immediately apologized for the name and explained that the Mitch in the story wasn’t a good guy. He reassured me it was okay and kind of liked the idea that his namesake was the bad guy.

10. Nick’s smile is a direct correlation to Josh Turner’s smile on the cover of his album Haywire. It’s a breathtaking sight to behold and truly swoon-worthy! (Or you can watch the video of Josh’s song Firecracker for more of that Hollywood smile.)

SNIPPET:
She thought of Brenda. No, she couldn’t. Brenda drove her crazy. She still wasn’t sure her in-laws realized she wasn’t moving in with them. Her mind automatically landed on Nick. She could call him. He would take her to the hospital. She wasn’t sure she should be driving anyway. If she had a contraction on the way to the hospital, she could get in an accident. She shivered. She tapped Nick’s speed dial number.

He picked up on the first ring.

“Sara,” he started. “I’m sorry. I mean, I’m not sorry I kissed you. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time, but I’m sorry I didn’t give you more warning or whatever, so you were prepared and didn’t think I was kissing you to prove a point. I know you were upset, and I was trying to be supportive, and I heard what Mitch said and it worried me, and I was trying to comfort you, and I just got carried away when you were talking about Peter, and I just don’t want you to think I was trying to take advantage of you because I wouldn’t do that. I really do care about you.”

Finally, he took a breath.

“Good,” she said with a glimmer of a smile after his rambling, “because I need your help, again.”

“Sure, anything. What can I do for you?”

“I need a ride.”

“Did your car break down? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m at home, but I can’t drive. I’m in labor.”

“Oh,” He paused. “Oh! I’ll be right there!” The line went dead and Sara smiled, knowing she had called the right person. Regardless of where things stood at the moment, she knew Nick would take care of her.

GIVEAWAY:

 

Enter the giveaway HERE.

Giveaway includes the winner’s choice of an e-copy (International) or autographed signed print copy (US only) of the book. Giveaway ends 11:59pm MT on July 21st.

Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

Tour Schedule:
July 16-Heidi Reads…
July 17-Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic
July 18-Singing Librarian Books
July 19-Wishful Endings
July 20-Jorie Loves A Story
July 21-Reading is My SuperPower

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COMING UP SOON ON 'READING, WRITING & STITCH-METIC':
 -- Wednesday, July 18th: Blog Tour Stop for 'The Last Summer'. Post includes a book spotlight, author bio, excerpt, ten behind-the-scenes facts shared by the author, and a giveaway. Tour organized by Singing Librarian Books. 

--  Thursday, July 19th:  Tour Stop for Author April Smith's inspirational YA debut novel, 'Loving Grace'. Post includes a list of little-known facts about the book written especially for 'Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic' by the author and a giveaway. Tour organized by JustRead Publicity. 

--  Friday, July 20th:  Friday Fiction Feature is a Blog Tour Stop for a middle-grade novel, 'Sophie Washington: Mission Costa Rica'. Post includes a book spotlight, author bio, excerpt, ten behind-the-scenes facts shared by the author, and a giveaway. Tour organized by Singing Librarian Books.  

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